Sudden Stom: Connect
by AzureEnding
Summary: Ruby never knew of anything outside of Grimm; when Heartless arise and Shadow walkers begin taking over her teams enemies they'll have to rely on the keyblades chosen - Sora and his friend Tidus in order to make it through the wake of darkness and hopefully manage to save the two from the darkness within them and after them. Possible SxR and PxJ
1. Heart seeking Heart

**So, this is my first attempt at a RWBY Story but I've done a few other ones with kingdomhearts so, yeah also you'll see a difference in forms again if you've read my story Sudden storm; also this story has a lot to do with that story BUT everything that has to do with Sudden storm will be explained in this story so you don't HAVE to read that c: please read and review :p**

Sora and Tidus sighed stepping off of the tram and into the station

_I already want to go back home._

Sora was the first to start walking Tidus right on his heels

* * *

><p>"Transferred" A grizzly old man said without a hint of remorse<p>

Sora made to open his mouth to protest Tidus looked annoyed

"Don't bother trying to protest this, after that whole spire incedent we can't accommodate you two, besides the shadows have been appearing in this area and suffice it to say, you two are the only ones with the most experience that I can spare at this point in time, so the both of you will be going, under false pretenses of course."

"False –"Sora was cut off

"You two will be new students with exceptional skill and prowess that you had to be accepted, the principal knows of you two and I suggest you seek him out, now…go on get out of here, you leave in two hours"

"_WHAT?!"_ It was not music to the mans ears as both teens protested

"Get over it, you have to, I don't personally want to deal with you two for a while and this is the blessing in disguise I needed, I'm tired of you two blowing stuff up and getting stabbed; seriously you two cost too much in medical bills. Out. Now"

* * *

><p>Within those two hours they were thrust onto a carriage then a tram then to where they were at this moment. Beacon.<p>

First impressions? Yeah it was a giant tower with great scenery as for the teens

"_Suuuuuucks"_ They both said in unison walking toward the main entrance with looks of annoyance everyone looked exotic in some way or another and they freely carried weapons Sora was taking in the heat and the scenery compared to his home this place was…radiant and yet, Sora felt uneasy amd felt something terrible underneath it all.

"_Help"_ Sora perked up

"_Please, help, I – we won't make it"_ He stopped

"Go on ahead" Sora called out he stopped

"_What?"_ Tidus asked almost double taking

"Someone's calling out to me…" Tidus seemed to forget that he had a link to people's hearts in specific situations, as well as being able to hear he wasn't at a level to be able to respond only because this was an ability he himself didn't know he had gained until recently and had no control over, but whenever someone was about to be killed or mortally wounded or knew they were in such a situation they couldn't escape from would this ability kick in **sometimes**, only now it seemed he could hear others hearts easier than just simple incoherent speech. Sora ran off Tidus was slightly envious – his newfound power was nowhere near as useful and yet Sora, Sora had one that could possibly save people's lives.

These abilities came from the woodwork it started happening on the way to this continent- a week ago – Hojo did say this area used a different type of energy they weren't accustomed to so they may develop a way to cope, so far Tidus didn't like this newfound way to cope.

"_I really…don't like the feel of this place"_

Sora rushed off feeling the threat over and over he couldn't even see who it was he was looking for but his heart was enough it lead him toward a deep forest and darkness was just radiating from he ran in without a bit of hesitation

"_I won't let another person feel pain because of the darkness"_

* * *

><p>They probably didn't realize the severity of the situation when one single man stood against them, and they probably didn't when Grimm came out of the wood work attacking them, but they were now.<p>

Shadows were on them too, something they never fought before and all this man was doing was laughing as the darkness took even more of him over. An aura of purple energy came flowing off of him

"So, any plans fearless leader?" It was the one dressed in white it was to the girl it was nearing sarcasm rather than an actual question luckily the Grimm they were faced with weren't a hassle but…they were being overwhelmed.

"I…" She couldn't think of an answer; muscular shadows came in trying to attack her team dogging and parrying the best they could it was clear to her they wouldn't make it.

"_Someone…help"_

* * *

><p>Tidus scurried around the school trying to find <strong>someone<strong> who knew who was in charge – he knew he had grey – near silver hair but the rest of his features lost to him when Sora rushed off trying to play hero, problems already started to happen it irked him that no matter what they did danger always followed them.

_Dammit _

He was knocked out of his reprieve due to the fact that he wasn't watching where he was going – at all he ran smack dab into a red haired girl, pricing green eyes and what seemed to be a shield attached to her arm.

"Oh, sorry about that, uhm" Tidus paused

"Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos, and…you seem lost, are you new?" Her face moved in closer with pure curiosity kindness radiated off of her, enough to entrap Tidus into speaking

"U-uh yeah I'm looking for the headmaster here, I'm new here" He scratched his head nervously "Easy to read huh?" He chuckled to himself for his own stupidity it was already obvious he wasn't a student and his joke wasn't even – he heard her laugh slightly

"I'm – my name is Tidus, Tidus Sureshot" (**Dumb last name, but I wanted to give him one, so…yeah if any of you have a better one seriously I'll use it)**

He reached out his hand and she took it and began dragging him along despite the confusion etched into the blondes' face he let her take control marveling in the softness of her hands he cursed himself for thinking this way

"_Here I am thinking about this, when I know who I love, she'd seriously be upset with me"_

"I'll take you to meet the headmaster, he's an elusive man to find when you need to find him" Pyrrah began naming off things Tidus had no clue about he felt a little bit more than confused about all of this

"Did you begin were you self-taught or did you study at the facility before coming here? Most students have to go through the facility but a select few were able to skip that – well one" Tidus perked up

"Well you're looking at another one, and I'm self-taught!" He began his true character coming out in a flourish of energy

"Who's the other is he tough? I bet I can take em'"

"_She_" Pyrrah corrected

"She? Oh" He seemed to lose a bit of his energy only for it to return double what it seemed to be earlier

"Seems fun! What's her name?" Pyrrah smiled

"Her names-"

* * *

><p>"RUBY!" Her elder sister shouted she was shot back again a seemingly impossible – invisible field separated her from her enemy as well as creepy mouth-less dark shadows they were taken care of easily but it didn't help that they kept coming with Grimm in tow - however.<p>

The main problem was Roman they couldn't do _anything_ to him and that eerie darkness that

Surrounded him was a moral killer. However his _wit_ was still very much intact.

"C'mon ladies where's that _red wing_ strength I always hear about? None of you on the flow yet? I can wait, it appears I have all day" He laughed at his joke and all the girls did was grimace

"Now, now girls, without a sense of humor this will **kill** me" He shot a wave of darkness outward sending the girls to their knees

"_So strong!"_

Roman was growing bored it was clear he wasn't going to get what he wanted without being a little rough.

"Fine, you won't entertain me, I'll give you a reason to scream for me" He had a disgusting smile on his face that just wouldn't go away

"Let's play, red" A pool of darkness began pulling her under her senses began vanishing she could still however hear her sister – her team screaming her name but they weren't moving to her location – they couldn't. Shadows and Grimm grabbed them keeping them rooted away from her as she began being sucked into the cold pool her poor beating heart was going haywire as soon as she couldn't see she lost it and began screaming drowning out her own teams pleas for him to stop or for someone to save her.

* * *

><p>"<em>Help...me!"<em>

"_**Say his name, and he will come"**_

"_What- "_

"_**You know it, you've known it all along, after all you two are connected, I've visited your dreams as well, say his name and he will come" **_

"_Please, just help me, stop with the games I –"_

"_**Don't want to die?"**_

"_Please!" _

"_**Say it."**_

"_Pl-"_

"_**SAY IT!"**_

"_Save me, I – I'm afraid…help me…Harbinger"_ A warm light engulfed her. Golden warmth took over her surroundings so bright she couldn't even see. When it finally dimmed she could see it was coming from a boy around her age a simple white hoodie with black designs a dark blue shirt lie underneath with blue slacks and black sneakers. She noticed the glow was coming from where his heart should be and as she looked down hers was too. When she looked up into his eyes he was looking dead ahead his eyes were hard and ruthless but when he looked down to her they were filled with kindness and such a sincere care was in his _glowing_ blue eyes. She quickly realized as the light faded completely that she was in his arms, bridal style.

"You okay?" He asked his attention toward the man in front of him however it was clear he was asking the girl in his arms who couldn't hide the blush she was sporting

"Oh, I'm just peachy, you mind putting the girl down? Plan on making her clothes a darker shade and I don't wanna miss" The teen arched a brow at this

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass on that one…not much of a fan of seeing people hurt" Sora turned away and placed her on the ground gently her silver-line eyes never leaving his – she as clearly mesmerized by him for whatever reason.

He turned back to the man and in a flash of light his weapon was in his hand Roman couldn't contain his laughter

"Seriously? A key? This isn't kindergarten!" Sora dismissed the insult and got into stance Roman braced himself for an attack that never came; Sora quickly threw his blade slicing the Heartless and Grimm away from the other members of team RWBY during this instance he ran straight for the elegant dressed man.

He leapt into the air when the final girl was safe, his blade returned to him he met a stalemate with a simple yet elegant cane it was obviously sturdier than he gave it credit for – because anything like this would've been destroyed as soon as his blade met said object.

"Well, I'll give you this kid, this toy of yours is pretty durable, but can it withstand darkness?" Waves of darkness reached for the brunette who easily dogged and backpedaled himself back within distance of the girls the closest being the blonde. Roman pointed the cane at the brunette who – in turn took it as a challenge not understanding what was in store; Sora smirked and ran straight for him.

"Look out!" Ruby and the blonde shouted the words couldn't protect him, couldn't shield him from the bullets that logged in his gut, his vision faded instantly

_What…happened?_

_**You're dying**_

_But…I have to keep going_

_**If you want to keep going, let me help you**_

_How?_

_**Grab a hold of me, and absorb my power**_

Outside of this mental conversation Yang – Ruby's older sister had the brunette in her lap calling to him trying to get him to wake up – it seemed to work, she assumed she wasn't sure blood was coming out of his mouth. She soon felt a shaky hand grab her head she didn't dare lose eye contact however the brunette was struggling to do something; he brought her closer and closer as if to say something important to her.

"_I'll use whatever power you grant me to save these people..."_ It came out as a whisper she couldn't register his lips overlapped hers and a bright light over took the teen

* * *

><p><strong>ONE OK ROCK – No Scared <strong>

* * *

><p>The light was too bright for anyone in the area to see when it vanished Sora was in a black and red jacket his shoes and slacks were black with red designs he cracked his knuckles and a light took over his hands he then slammed his knuckles together and the light faded brandishing one silver and one grey gauntlet clearly made for fighting his focus made solely on the man in front of him.<p>

Every step he took crushed the earth beneath him he couldn't contain the smirk breaking out on his face as heat surrounded his form, he vanished in a heat wave of speed an earth shattering right hook sent Roman into the earth below a kick sent him into the ground so hard the shockwave sent him three feet into the air – said man tried gasping for breath but a fist sent him two feet into a rock creating dust below his form.

"If this is all you have you don't stand a chance!" Sora went skyward as more bullets came flying toward him, using pure instinct he dogged and redirected these bullets away from him so easily it was sad he landed as Roman began powering up giant blast of pure darkness

**2:19**

_1_

The power was getting to be too much

_2_

Sora got in front of the blast

_3_

Roman couldn't contain his full blown twisted smile

_4_

Sora retracted his guantlets into a singular clarmore keyblade

**GOOOOOOOO**!

Sora was knocked back into a nearby tree he could lazily see the girls slowly looking at each of them – finally landing on the red clad girl…power flooded into his system he slowly stood up, closing his eyes taking an iron stance, flames formed around his body he slammed his knuckles together so hard the friction created fire in his hands and when he opened his eyes they were glowing blood red.

**2:45**

He ran vanished in an instant lading hit after hit on roman his fast punches left the forest in an uproar so much so patches of grass were literally set ablaze due to the heat radiating off of him finally speeding up even faster than he was before a ball of flame was better suited for what he looked like now he couldn't be seen. Sora began a flourish of combos that Roman couldn't even see – the damage was so great he went into shock from the damage and couldn't even think until he was sent skyward and all he could see was a red blur above him.

"_How…is this kid…"_

Sora retracted his knuckles again returning it to a two handed keyblade form fire rested on the blade itself; Sora raised the blade ready to finish this fight.

"**BURNING-"**

"_How is he…So"_

"**CROSS"**

"_Strong!"_

"**SLAAAAASH!"** Roman went down toward the forest floor in a ball of flame a crater so big it set some trees ablaze in its wake. Sora landed as the power he received faded from him.

A eeiry calm filled the forest not a thing could be heard as Sora turned to face the girls his eyes still hard – slowly softening a smile slowly gracing his features his hands resting in his normal laid back position the girls' faces of fear and concern became that of awe and admiration – one of pure disinterest.

"You girls alright?" The brunette asked

* * *

><p>"So, why are we in this plane again, I mean you didn't even tell me before we left but…yeah" Tidus was even more confused now than he was earlier. See they found the headmaster who was already preparing to leave, apparently the rest of her team was already there so it was all just a matter of waiting on the red head once she arrived they were briskly forced into a helicopter and carried off to this remote area that was known as the last known location of another team they sent out over a day ago. It was clear something happened and from the visage of smoke in the distance, it only sent off more alarms in for the group.<p>

"We sent a team of our own out to this remote area to gather intel on a new enemy that was recently surfacing, it was made clear to search report back every hour and return the next day at dawn nothing more, it's been over the deadline. We brought you because you seem to have come at the oddest time, right when they start to appear you do too – I feel you are connected to this and I don't want you out of my sight" The head master – Opzin – his gaze didn't reach anything other than the blonde in front of him. Tidus felt he was being blamed for this mess in a indirect way and felt himself shrinking in a figurative way

A bright light tore the two from the mental warfare the two were having. Opzin quickly called out orders to the man in the cockpit they soon made way to the area the light came from and Tidus came face to face with his reason for hating this place so much.

The shadows – the heartless were upon them.

Tidus leapt from the helicopter despite the screams of protest and quickly ran toward the nearest shadow slashing it to ribbons without hesitation slashing his way to the clearing the red head and her group following suit a minute or two after.

Tidus came running in on the sight of his brown haired partner in front of a group of girls huddled close to each other and or holding each other up – Sora was clearly drained but held up two keyblades in defensive position clearly willing to fight to the death to allow the girls to escape.

"Seems you could use some help," Tidus ran up slicing another shadow apart

"Get the girls out of here, I'll deal with these!" Sora's gaze hardened as did his resolve to willingly give up his life here.

"You…didn't see the helicopter did you?" Tidus smirked

"Oh yeah, cause I totally have the time to look for a helicopter while I'm trying to keep people from dying Tidus." Sora shot back as he threw a blade slicing apart another shadow.

As if on cue the rest of the group Tidus left behind showed up escorting the team Sora managed to save toward the helicopter, while Tidus and Sora held back the shadows until the distant fire dissipated and a dust of darkness flew off toward the distant mountains, Sora glared at the dust he knew what that meant.

"_Of course you aren't dead yet._"

* * *

><p>"I demand an explanation, from both of you, now." Opzin was clearly unpleased Sora and Tidus handed the man papers – clearly registration papers<p>

"Mmh…Strife? Sureshot?...Those - you" The man paused and relaxed

"I see you're those kids…"

"Those things we fought were heartless, nowhere near as powerful as some – but the man before them was being manipulated I kinda…set him on fire so you wouldn't be able to show you but the girls from before told you about him so –" Sora quickly refocused

"He was being manipulated by the shadows – something much, much stronger than those that you saw" Sora sated without a hint of humor

"Care to elaborate…?" Sora quickly downcast

"I can't not until we're accepted that was an order, if you refused or didn't allow us sanction here I wasn't allowed to divulge information that could harm the school we hail from" The man in front of them sat in his chair thinking for a moment.

The ride back to beacon was a quiet one, aside from Nora and Yang enthusiastically talking about the fight – Yang deliberately dismissing the lip lock. All the while Ruby had her eyes glued to her brunette savior.

To Opzin it was clear these two held great strength and abilities that they were holding back or weren't able to use due to difference in energy flow and how it is conducted – however if It was true Roman was able to use a newfound power and this kid - Sora defeated him single handedly then it was best to keep them around by any means. He sat back in his chair – two cups of coffee set in front of the teens. Stress was evident on the trio in the room, outside Ruby and her team along with Jaune and his team sat outside waiting.

* * *

><p>"You still haven't told me why we're <em>still<em> waiting, Ruby" Weiss snipped again

"I want to know what happens to him – I mean them" She quickly countered

"While it was very fortunate he saved us by whatever stroke of luck it was, this is going a tad too far, I am grateful but I must rest I'm tired as I'm sure you are" Weiss reasoned

"Yeah, Ruby, I get you're interested and even a bit curious but we need rest, not only that, we have class tomorrow we can't waste a lot of time here as much as I disagree with the way Weiss put it, she is right" Blake simplified the speech

"Go on if you want, I'll wait" The group deadpanned

"Are you _interested_ in him that much?" Nora they hyper active girl of team JPNR launched herself into the red hooded teens face without remorse asking questions she turned as red as her cape

"I – I just want to thank him…" The biggest stare and looks of _that is total dog crap_ etched into everyones faces causing the accused girl to shrink in her seat. The door to Opzin's office opened and Ruby perked up instantly she couldn't explain her elation nor could she explain how she was feeling but she quickly brightened up at the thought of seeing the brunette.

"Everythings taken care of, these two will be joining beacon as special exceptions seeing as these two aren't even of the legal age to join just yet" Opzion scrutinized

"Only by a year, and I'm pretty sure my ol' partner and I are stronger than whatever you've got here if you can't even take down a possessed" Sora glared a bit at his friend

"They weren't prepared for such an enemy, Tidus that's unfair to say." Sora defended

"However, prepared or not they need experience facing such a foe and you two are the only ones we have to rely on, come tomorrow will have something set up for you two, as for tonight, rest." As soon as those words left the man's mouth Sora felt all the energy inside him fade and sleep enter his system.

As they all filed out toward their respective rooms Ruby, however clasped onto the brunette's hand as a plea for him to stay her face down cast as if gathering courage. Her head shot up so quickly it gave him a slight startle.

"T-Thank you, for before, it – it meant a lot that you saved me…that you heard my call" Sora's eyes widened

"How…how do you know that I heard you?" She looked away from his gaze

"I felt our hearts…connect, I felt…so much – I know it without a doubt, it had to be! So…Thank you, it means so much that you're around and I hope whatever team you end up on that…you'll continue to help me – I – I mean us!" She giggled nervously looking toward him one last time before she yawned

"I think it best we get some sleep, goodnight, Ruby" Sora said nonchalantly

"Good night…Cloud" Sora stopped and turned her way, doing a double take.

"_Did…she just call me by my dad's name!?"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, lemme know what you guys think of this? Leave a review, and as of now Ruby knows nothing of the kiss Sora and her sister shared - not that Sora knew truly of it, and yeah s to why Ruby called Sora ,Cloud? You'll have to find out c: And yes the teams are already set up in my head and no this isn't a SoraxYang story maybe a bit of one-sidedness but as of right now I'm leaning towards another choice BUT it'll be explained as to why Sora has to do what he does in order to get his forms the way he does.**


	2. A sign of things to come

**A/N: Back again with another chapter! Hopefully the wait wasn't too long for you all! This one is a bit more character driven and the complications our key wielding hero will be dealing with - It may seem similar in some way to another fanfic I discovered and I apologize for that (I mean some of the interactions may have been done and they might have)And will explain some of Sora's past ANYWAY Enjoy**

**Don't forget to R&R~**

Sora woke up in a blur of hazy memories of what happened the day before, he was…without a doubt perplexed on quite a few things that happened yesterday, mainly who exactly Opizin was and just how much he knew of him as well as his teammate;

"What a dream" Sora yawned

"What dream?" A female voice asked Sora shot up to meet silver eyes to his glowing electric blue

"You… you're Ruby right?" Sora pointed slightly the girl smiled brightly

"Yep! Ruby, Ruby Rose! Nice to see you slept well, Cloud" He twitched at the name and sighed

"That's my father's name, not my own, my name is Sora, Sora Strife" The girl looked a bit shocked and blushed a bit

"But the voice said-" Sora perked up "Voice, what voice?"

"I…euh I heard a voice in the darkness that told me to call that name if I wanted to live if I wanted to survive" Sora stared intently making the girl shift uncomfortably under his gaze. The teen was lost in thought.

"_It's clear the shadow walkers are at work here, but why, what are they after…more over are they after Ruby…if so…"_ His eyes flared bit as he refocused his gaze on her blushing one.

"I need to talk to Opzin, can you take me to him?" Ruby jolted upward a bit at the question

"Headmaster's busy trying to decide on –" A buzzing came over the intercom of the school

"All students are to report to the auditorium immediately for a special announcement" The door to the lounge opened revealing a woman with blonde hair and stern eyes

"Move it, you, follow me" The woman commanded, Sora wanted to protest but something about her made her scarier than Auron

"Yes ma'am" They both chorused

Ruby rushed off to the auditorium and Sora couldn't help but look back at her, he should've told her, but he didn't, he had to tell her and make sure she knew, he'd protect her, no matter what. Just as he was about to turn away she looked back to him…her eyes seemed a bit sad but a small smile reached her lips, it gave him a pained feeling but he felt his face grow hot.

"_I'll keep you safe, I promise"_

The walk was fast paced she didn't miss a beat telling him so many things a minute he couldn't keep his head from spinning she instructed him to stay near the podium and keep his face hidden for the time being along with the other boy beside him – he knew it was Tidus.

"Ahem" Sora looked around alert, he couldn't see a thing before him. The room itself was dark or at least it seemed like that, lights around the stage light up enough for the people in the crowd before them to see but not the other way around – even with squinting Sora couldn't pick out anyone he knew which was a small amount.

"Today, we welcome two new students who have credentials well beyond most students here able to surpass even Signal's training a year before they were qualified to enlist into beacon to become hunters or huntresses" A light surrounded the two and they looked to Opzin who gave them the okay to reveal themselves – as if some people didn't already know. Sora simply removed his hood – the light itself made his normal glowing blue eyes shine even brighter.

"Uh, my…my name is Sora, Sora strife I was trained in the ways of fighting by my father and by another high ranked fighter in his own right, uhm…" Opzin raised a hand to stop him

"Leave a bit for your teammates, you" He pointed to the teen standing next to the brunette who threw off his jacket in a flourish, he was smirking so hard you'd think his face would crack.

"Yo, names Tidus! Tidus sureshot, I was self-taught and eventually taught by one of the same masters as my bud here, but, I can tell you all I'll be the best here you can bet on that!" Murmurs around the room filled

"You wanna bet brat!" A voice rang out and other protests made Tidus' smirk grow if possible wider "C'mon I'll take you all on!" Tidus declared Sora slowly let his hand travel to his face covering it.

"Tidus, our powers don't work here the same way, you dolt" Sora mumbled just loud enough for Tidus to hear

He tilted into a lopsided stance but till tried keeping up with false bravado

"_Actually I have no proof on the powers of darkness but all darkness brings is despair, never again I must keep him from using it"_

Sora looked at his old friend, a nagging sensation filled him, he'd never truly know the extent of what happened and with good reason, he'd lose all control –he couldn't let that happen, not again.

"_I have to protect you, and everyone from what you can become, for that, you can never know what transpired, my dear friend"_ Sora sighed to himself.

He'd have time to grieve and let his charade fall when he could be alone, not now he **had** to put on a front and be strong

"You sure it's not just you? I seem to be doing just fine!" Tidus boasted Sora sighed again

When he thought about a few things, he had to wonder how Auron managed all of this, he could only gather Auron had all of this planned in case they fell, maybe Opzin knew everything and was hoping – betting that he'd win this time, and they'd survive, however, Sora was still in his mind at least afraid, but he knew, he could feel who he was connected to and would risk it all to protect em.

The bad part of this, was because now he was truly human again, he couldn't use his form change when he wanted to, he'd have to rely on – well that he wasn't truly sure of, he knew the blonde girl had the power to transform him into valor….the rest of her team might have a similar power and that was enough of a reason he gathered to be placed on the girls team.

"CRDL…RWBY….JPNR are a few names of teams that you that have been formed, but, know this, whatever team" He turned his attention to the crowd

"Takes either of these two in will be faced with beasts much stronger than normal Grimm" Silence befell the room however someone stood up amoung the darkness of the room

"I'll take the brownie" Sora pointed to himself and felt whoever it was, was smiling the person ran up smiling brightly, followed by three more people who came to stand alongside her, stepping up into the light silver eyes again met his electric blue.

"Then, from this point on, team RWBY will be known as RWBYS" Sora let his hand land over his face at such a drastic name change Ruby latched herself to the brunette smiling brightly.

"_Find the person who is connected to you…"_

_Well that wasn't hard she's attached to my freaking hip._

"Ruby, care to explain why you want another teammate, I'm not even going to get into the fact that this teammate is a **hormone-ridden teenage boy**" Sora let his façade drop ever so slightly

"I have a purpose, and it isn't to go around wooing every girl I meet, I –" He paused as his body tensed

"I swore I'd stop them, I can't let something petty as love get in my way" Sora felt a pang of guilt as Rubys face took on a crestfallen look, he wanted to say something…but figured it best until later

"Psh, listen to this guy, still got the hots for Yuna even after all this?" Sora felt his heart sink deeper into his chest Ruby's eyes glistened over in sadness

"Well, you really are quite the _whore_ aren't you?" Sora looked away from the elder female her sky blue eyes held scrutiny

"I don't have the _hots_ for her, how could I she's-" Sora stopped himself glaring and tensing up in ways he hadn't remembered doing in some time he couldn't say what he wanted to for so many reasons and it in a way relieved him.

"_At least you can still dream, Tidus" _

"-She's totally my girl, at least you remember that, I'm glad I don't have to reprimand my best friend here!" Sora clicked his tongue and looked away anywhere but toward the people near him he crossed his arms in defiance.

"Aside from his rough demeanor, who here will take this blonde hotshot?" It felt more like an auction now than a team search, silence again filled the room

Little did they think that Pyrrha would be working her magic on her blonde leader, in forms of _it'd help improve your courage to have someone that boastful even if it is superficial and harder missions mean more chances to improve your combat skills but it'll mean harder training. _The blonde sighed before…despite his want to shrink and hide and let some other team take the boastful teen, stood up alongside his team, The leader nervously rubbing his dominant hand over his lesser arm – a nervous habit obviously.

"Well I suppose team JNPR is going to become team JNTPR" Tidus hunched over in a bit of what seemed to be disappointment?

"Well, you guys aren't what I expected – Hey Pyrrha! – anyway, I'll have to whip you guys into shape if you guys plan on keeping up with me!" Tidus smirked

"We don't have time for outrageous ideas….Tidus we have to-" His hand latched onto his brunette friend

"Oh, c'mon let me play ol' master Auron for a bit" As that sentence left the blondes mouth Sora's demeanor changed completely he took off Tidus' arm from is shoulder and stood away from the teen.

"Sora?" No response

"Ahem" It was Opzin

"Well we welcome the new formation of teams and they will show you to your room where you will stay – you will do everything as a team, remember this and protect your teammates with your life, dismissed"

"Sora," The man spoke up again he was facing the brunette this time away from the microphone

"I know what transpired and I know, those powers you gained aren't from how he perceives them to be, one day you'll have to tell him the truth, Sora" Sora turned away

"_That day isn't today, until then, I have to keep this…all of this to myself" _Sora exited the auditorium following his new team briskly listening intently as Ruby spoke to her team happily.

_Is this…how we were?"_

"-Yuna" Sora perked up at the name "Hm?" Sora looked to the silver eyed girl

"Who is Yuna?" The girl repeated

Sora took a moment to ponder his answer looking outside a nearby window, he stood as if lost in thought his eyes glazed over Weiss began tapping her foot impatiently

"She…was someone I loved – dearly" Sora paused for a moment "And someone that I couldn't save…because I was weak…she-" Weiss was agitated and groaning "Yes! Yes get on with it!" The brunette shook his head

"She was someone, I couldn't protect when she needed me the most" A weak smile graced his lips

A still silence filled the hall the brunette turned his gaze onto the girls and they could see, just how hard his eyes had become as if he lost literally everything and he was nothing more than a husk of something much more.

"I'll not fail again,"

"Everyone gets hurt, and you can't hope to protect everyone alone" The ravenette spoke pricing the brunettes bravado

"Maybe not, I couldn't before –" His gaze faltered

"But I will give it my all, I can't fail again" He smiled slightly at his own words

The girls – really only three – smiled at him before they continued toward their room where the true dilemma arose

"Only four beds" An awkward silence filled the room.

"Well, I can just sleep in the mi-" Weiss grabbed him and a roll of tape

Quickly rushing around the area she chose it was soon covered in a line of tape

"Your area, the rest is ours" Weiss smiled content "Don't leave it or you'll have to deal with more than a stern talking to!" Sora looked to the spot

"That's a corner, that's not even enough room to lay down" Sora pouted slightly

"Not my problem." She responded

"How is it not you set it up this way!" Sora retaliated

"Well maybe if you had a bit more credibility with how you treat women I wouldn't have the need to do this" That one stung and his pout increased tenfold

"You don't even know anything about me and base me off of something a friend said when-"He stopped himself.

"Never mind, forget it," Sora hunched himself into the spot Weiss appointed him resting his head against the wall as best he could trying to let sleep take him the best he could

"Weiss, maybe…that was too much" Ruby spoke out

"You can never truly trust a man, he may have gone out of his way to save us, but we know nothing about him, the fact I'm even letting him sleep in this room is proof enough I'm thankful" Weiss began filing her nails

"Doesn't…Jaune's team have two girls and guys –" Weiss cut off Blake

"Jaune is a whimp and Ren is respectful" She defended

"So, you admit Sora has talent" Yang pointed out

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to, that alone proves you think he has talent" Blake stated

"No, it doesn't it just means we don't know anything about him and he is a **bit** talented nothing more, he tried anything I'd stop him for sure!" Weiss was now totally pouting

"You…do know I'm still awake right?" Weiss quickly threw her pillow at the brunette

"What was that for!" Sora shouted

"For speaking when you weren't spoken to!"

"How was I to even know that was a rule!?" Sora shot back

"A man knows" Sora's face contorted into a look of utter bewilderment

"…_What_"

"Now, be a gentleman will you and give me my pillow back" Sora decided to fight back with her own treatment

"What's the magic word?" The room went at least ten degrees colder

"_What_ was that?" She glared slowly standing

_Crap well, no turning back now_

"What's the magic word" He repeated feeling a bit of fear from the girl closing in on his position

"Return my pillow" She raised a hand

"Weiss, threatening to slap me isn't going to get your pillow back" Sora raised the pillow above his head

Sora's chest went numb as her foot was quickly planted in it, Weiss recovered her pillow and dusted it off before returning to bed

"W-why did you raise your hand like you wanted to hit me only to do that!" He huffed out Weiss only 'hmphed' in reply the brunette slipped off his jacket after recovering from the numbing pain.

"What are you doing!?"The elegant girl asked

"If you expect me to sleep with this on your outta your mind," Sora stood up and the girls shuddered he had more scars than a teenager his age should have and at that more lethal ones – Ruby felt sick to her stomach

Sora sat back down in a simple red t-shirt and draped his jacket over him trying to get comfortable

"G'night" He mumbled the girls followed suit except Ruby, she kept looking at him her eyes held worry

"_Just how far do you go to protect people?" _

* * *

><p>The next morning was hectic, Sora was sore all over from his sleeping arrangement and he awoke to see more of Yang than he expected.<p>

He thought girls were supposed to wear those cups - bras to bed….She didn't…and needless to say she got up with her shirt barely even on her, if possible Sora tried pushing himself further into the wall he was laying against to disappear from this image, he didn't want another reason for Weiss to hate him to pile on him.

After Yang finally got dressed he stood up letting his body stretch out.

"This, is exactly why I said he shouldn't be here" Sora looked to the girl with sleep filled eyes her words barely registered

"What?" He asked more so demanded an answer as Yang pointed down with a full blown smile on her face – Weiss looked disgusted Blake took a look and returned to her book, Ruby on the other hand was redder than what she was named after.

He looked down, pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled through his nose – hard

"Sorry" He blushed a bit

"Men" Weiss hissed

"Hey, I can't even control this!" Sora bit back at the girl

"You sure you didn't catch a peek at Yang here, that'd be a reason in itself" Sora let his hand travel to his forehead

"If it's my fault maybe I should help him out" Sora's face went scarlet

"Wh-WHAT!?" Sora shot himself backward a bit

"Sis, what are you talking about?!" Ruby shook her sister with a blush of her own – a sly smirk played on the blondes features

"Just kidding" The two teens deadpanned

"Can we just go get some food, _please_" Sora couldn't remember the last time he was this hungry

"Are you sure you won't just get another one of _those_ checking out everyone you see?" Sora clicked his tongue in annoyance

"Weiss, if I could control everything I did that you found disgusting that I do, I wouldn't even be human anymore" Sora walked past her briskly putting on his jacket

"I'm your superior and I'd like respect!" Weiss spat back

"Weiss, you've done nothing to earn my respect, the moment I met you, I had to risk my life to save you, I think you've got this backward" Weiss' face grew hot with anger

"How DARE you, the only reason I even agreed to let you stay in here was because of Ruby's constant pleading, I didn't have to I knew she wanted to repay you, you have done nothing short of help us that gives me a reason to be thankful however I do not respect you from what I've heard and I don't respect your skill" Sora shrugged giving her one final look before opening the door and walking out closing the door silently.

"Weiss, too much" Blake commented flipping a page in her book Ruby ran out after the brunette

"I stand by it!" She hmphed

"You see it like that, but like it or not, he did something the four of us together couldn't you seem more envious than lacking and you refuse to accept his strength far exceeds your own" Blake stood up making way to the door of the room they shared

"He may seem like an idiot to you, but from those scars on his body, he tries hard and that alone should be room enough for respect" She closed the door Weiss looked to the blonde of the team

"He's not a bad guy, you know? Sure he kissed me randomly - and that never gets back to Ruby she clearly is fond of Sora - but, the power he wielded he used to save us, and you know what he said that day?"

"I didn't notice it back then, but now that I think back…he said _I'll use any power you grant in order to save these people_" Weiss' eyes grew wide

"He's selfless, more so than I can say for how you're being, give him a chance, Weiss, for my sister" Yang left the room

"_But…"_

* * *

><p>Tidus was having a ball stuffing his face with his new team who he already got along with.<p>

This was his imagination of course

Nora was just as hyper as he was so the two connected instantly. Jaune however Tidus took him under his wing trying to get him to feel and act tougher – The relationship he had was Pyrrha was one of mutual respect and they both tried teaching Jaune to believe in himself.

As for Ren, Tidus spent five minutes with the guy before he realized that it was a wasted effort, Ren didn't speak much, he liked quiet, Tidus vowed to get him to open up…after he ate food was calling him.

Right now he was stuffing his face with so much food it seemed almost in human

"Have you really not eaten in that long of a time?" Pyrrha asked

"Been…few…days" He said in between bites Tidus looked up and a smile graced his face

"Sora!" The blonde called out

Sora looked over to his friend and it seemed his hard gaze only increased but he made way along with Ruby

"Only just you two? What having a breakfast date?" Tidus teased Ruby blushed while Sora simply said nothing and slowly began to eat.

Food…he couldn't remember the taste until he finally took a bite and almost cried at the feeling of what it felt like to taste ad it only reminded him of the gift he was give

"Hey, you alright?" Pyrrha asked

"Y-Yeah, just-" Tidus shot out

"He hasn't had a thing to eat in a longer time than I have, he gave what rations he could to me so I wouldn't starve, Sora's made of sterner stuff" Tidus complimented

"Don't see why though, I mean if you got attacked, out of the two of you isn't Sora stronger?" Ruby asked innocently Tidus laughed

"Not by a long shot!" Sora shot him a glare

"Tidus, don't lie to my teammate" Sora barked Tidus flinched

"Okay, so you can kill giant hulking masses of shadow and take on the most famed swordsman whoever lived and come out without dying but my dad is tougher than both of them and when I beat him you'll have to see that I'm stronger!" Sora gave him a look

"Sephiroth…is a monster, Tidus" Sora spooned some of his eggs

"He'd slaughter innocent people, your father is a jerk, but not to that extent" Sora began chewing slowly

"How, how would you even know Sora, you only –"

"Hey guys, mind if we join you?" Yang and Blake came from out of no-where and simply sat across from the duo Sora was unfazed

"You didn't see what he did…Tidus, you…have no idea" Sora sighed Tidus clicked his tongue

"Then when I defeat my dad I'll take on big bad sephypuss for you" Tidus cooed Sora gave him a _What the hell_ look

"What's a _Spehypuss_" Yang asked Sora's eyes darkened

"He's a monster killer who wants nothing more than to kill any and all who oppose him – my dad was the only man to defeat him" Yang eyed him weirdly

"If he was defeated why worry?"

"Because he's not dead, and he-" A voice came above his clearing her throat

"Mind…if I sit here?" It was Weiss she couldn't meet anyones gaze

"Do, as you wish" Sora spat she slowly sat down and felt the awkward silence fill the table

"Look, Sora, I apologize…for what I said, I –" Sora cut her off

"I don't want to hear it, I'm not here to appease you, Weiss, I'm here to stop the heartless – the shadow walkers from what they intend on doing, If that means getting along with you…I'll do it, all is forgiven" Weiss looked slightly confused

"Just like that?" Ruby had a full blown smile on her face

"I have no reason to hate someone I'll be fighting side by side with, a person I'll be protecting" Sora began eating again

"Fighting…what exactly, you never explained" The table went silent and all eyes were on the blonde and brunette

"Shadow walkers are giant manifestations of evil, and can send a form of consciousness to fight for them, as in a takeover of a human body to fight without the loss of life." Sora started

"But, of course that doesn't mean the person they took over couldn't die, but they can be controlled by a higher form of darkness" Tidus continued

"Yeah, but so far only two people can do this, to an extent" Sora finished

"Sephiroth" Sora spat

"And my dad Jecht" Tidus growled out

"That sounds like a power Roman may want to go after" Blake commented off-handedly

"Well, I sure didn't find him, if he is alive I feel he might be helping them" Sora began drinking milk

"Well, luckily it's a Sunday, morning we can worry about finding Roman and that Sephiroth guy later, right?" Sora nodded

"I'd like to deal with my dad as soon as I'm able, he's the reason Yuna didn't come with us!" Sora began choking on his milk at those words

"You, what exactly are you talking about?!" Sora stood up hesitantly

"His presence of evil kept her from coming with us, remember he wants her gone, so the sooner he's gone the sooner Yuna can come help us!" Tidus boasted Sora grit his teeth and marched outside following a long narrow path until he was met with a statue of what he guessed humans triumphing over something – Grimm he surmised he sat on it, trying to desensitize himself to the name of the girl he cared for.

"Having trouble?" He looked up to see the silver eyed girl looking back at him a small smile played on her lips

"It isn't his fault, he's-" Sora felt a presence

"A wimpy moron right? Sora stood up with a keyblade in his hand instantly

"Air head maybe, but I'm not the one you should be facing, you know" Sora turned around to see Jecht his blade resting against his neck and his muscles rippled as he laughed at the brunette

"I just wanted to see how you've taken to the new body, Auron did always have a soft spot for scrawny kids" Sora glared

"_New body?" _Ruby thought

"Don't speak ill of my master!" Sora shot into the air only to be deflected before he could even attack – jecht had his hands around Sora's throat

"I'm not here to pick a fight, just thought I'd tell you, instead of Sephiroth," The name sent Sora into a frenzy

"…From this point on, we won't hold back" He threw the teen toward his teammate

"And do tell that idiot son of mine to stop living in the clouds, that girls dead" Jecht vanished in a portal of darkness Sora grit his teeth so hard he thought he'd break a tooth

"Sora" The name sounded so…sweet coming from the girls' mouth

"You said you failed her, when you said that…did you mean…" He looked up to her

"Yes, her death, was my fault, Ruby, I couldn't save her and she paid with her life"

* * *

><p>Jecht returned to base in a matter of moments to see white fang members still moving boxes around<p>

"I guess Cinder's warning didn't help pick up the pace did it?" Jecht looked to his silver haired counterpart

"It didn't until I decided to kill one for every second they took going that slow" Sephiroth smirked

"And it did wonders for the morale" Cinder came into view

"I can already see an improvement in productivity I'm glad you two decided to aid us" A smirk grew

"So long as we keep the agreement, we made, you can keep that school for whatever you plan to do, but leave those two boys to us" Sephiroth's gaze met hers

"Why of course, _partner_"

**A/N: So yeah next chapter will be more team rwby oriented and a follow up to Jecht's words**

**R&R **

**AE**


	3. Show an Tell

"So…"She was at a loss for words she hopped more than anything this would entice him to explain

Sora's gaze was hallowing, looking through her rather than at her and yet he began his tale.

"I managed to kill one, alone that day, the day it happened, I was filled with something akin to pride in myself…maybe, I'm not sure really. Our school's headmaster watched me defeat it, and told me it'd be best to check on the rest of my team – they all suffered major injuries, even I did before this." Sora paused momentarily to collect his thoughts, inhaling hard he looked away from the girl before him.

"As soon as I got to the room, _he_ was there, I didn't even bother to see if they were okay or alive I just confronted him, then rushed him without a single though besides defeating him to save my friends" Ruby's eyes couldn't be deciphered all the while he was looking at anything but her eyes, she was still searching his trying to decide if this was truth or fabrication.

"I didn't stand a chance, especially…" He looked at her for a moment as his eyes glistened over with tears she felt her heart sink a bit at this action he was confiding in such a way that she didn't expect him to.

"Especially after I- I failed everything around me crumbled and my master risked everything…everything to save us, he got us here…at the cost of the girl Jecht brought up. Tidus doesn't know anything about this." Ruby felt there was more to this and came to understand why Tidus and Sora contrasted each other like they did. She wanted to know more about all of this but didn't press on the subject, she assumed it'd all come out in due time…Maybe, but still she felt his friend needed to know.

"But, doesn't he deserve to know, Sora I mean he-" Her tactic was cut off and Sora rushed out his words

"-No, he couldn't handle it and you don't want to see what becomes of him at that point, promise me not a word will reach his ears," He stared at her and stared hard in hopes she'd show any indication of agreeing. After what seemed to be minutes of intense staring and her internal struggle they were interrupted.

"Dude, If you two are going to kiss or something just do it already" Tidus hollered, Ruby jumped slightly before her eyes darted toward the ground with a blush

"_Why, Why am I so shy around him?"_

Sora cocked his head to the side in annoyance as Tidus smirked widely

"Opzin said we're _supposed _to have a mission today but ya'know since we both joined our teams we have the day off to get to know how we operate so, we figured it'd be easier to do it together – both teams since you and I are used to fighting together" Ruby smiled wide

"Woo will be training together? Let's go!" She blasted off faster than either teen honestly expected her to move

"_At least in training I can be myself…"_

"She…doesn't e- she's going to get lost" Sora hunched forward

"We're meeting behind the school in the courtyard" Tidus commented Sora nodded in reply before Sora's eyes began glowing brighter before he shot off almost if not faster than Ruby did. Tidus whistled to himself before racing off toward the area the teams meeting location was.

Sora ran through the cafeteria, the library, he even went to so far as to check the room they shared only to find her looking for something

"Ruby?" Sora called she jolted to her full height which was still a head shorter than the brunette hero and slowly turned around to face him

"S-Sorry, I came back here because of the story you told me, and…" She trailed off playing with her hands like a school girl…granted she was exactly that but surprisingly it made her all the more adorable. Sora was willing to admit that she was, even if it did come off as flirtatious he didn't say it aloud so what was the harm especially if he wasn't flirting?

"I was looking for something and…well I couldn't find it but uh I have a question!" She smiled nervously

"Could….could we be friends?" Sora scratched his head a bit in confusion at her words…weren't they…already?

"Eh?" Sora looked perplexed

Ruby had a bashful look about her Sora looked a bit confused

"Well, you said you'd be fighting alongside us and you'd protect us and keep us safe but…you never said we were friends or anything so, could this promise be our mark of friendship?" Sora looked down into her eyes before smiling hard

"From the moment we met, I considered you my friend, Ruby" She mimicked his smile as Sora took a look at her honestly for the first time

Her short hair swayed in the wind it was almost jet black with hints of chestnut her pale complexion matched her silver eyes nicely and her petite frame made her look that much more fragile. Sora silently vowed he wouldn't let anything happen to his new friends, even Weiss even if she was a stick in the mud…and totally didn't know how to have fun. His inner thoughts almost caused him to miss her leave.

"Meet at the courtyard!" Sora yelled out to the girl and sighed slightly before smiling himself, before calling out Fenrir

"_How did dad do it again?_" Sora thought for a moment before his smile grew slightly

"_Ah right"_ Sora raised his blade to his head

"Embrace your dreams and whatever happens protect your honor…" Sora recalled the last part but chose to leave it out. It was never his place to claim to be what his father was but smiled none the less

"_It seems, I'll have to be your living legacy now uncle Zack, as well as my dads…that means I can't dwell on the past, I have to walk forward with my head held high"_

"Let's move," Sora raced off all the while Ruby was having her thoughts clouded by the brunette

" …_He said we're friends this is great I'm so glad I didn't think he'd be so willing, I'm so happy I could burst!" _Ruby reasoned to herself.

"_Right?" _Her mind ceased to think on the matter all except one thought

"_I can be myself now, right?"_

It didn't take long for her to reach the courtyard surprisingly enough she and Sora were only arriving seconds apart from each other she noticed the change in his weapon it was something she'd seen before but made her smile even wider than before.

"Alright!" Tidus shouted

"Let's get down to basic training!" Sora sighed a ghost of a smile still on his lips

"Not so fast, we still have to go over the heartless and shadow walkers _before_ we even do that" Sora reprimanded

"But that's _so_ boring!" Tidus whined even Yang and Ruby seemed disappointed

"Wow, I figured you to be a bumbling idiot when it came to things like these" Weiss commented off handedly with a flip or her wrist

"My father taught me a lot of thing –" He paused resting his hands on his hip and chin respectively and looking toward the sky thinking over the things his father actually taught him after what may have been minutes Sora sighed dramatically

"Okay he really didn't teach me too much I pretty much inherited his keen ability, the information I know I learned from master Auron and headmaster Eraqus" Sora looked to the teens around him, all eyes trained on him he felt his every word would have an impact.

"So, pretty much everything you know in terms of basic fighting was inherited" Jaune asked Sora felt a bit of jealousy in his words

"Yeah, my strength, speed, reaction time, everything…just not his smarts or grasps of somethings" Sora laughed a bit

"So you really are an idiot" Sora deadpanned

"N-No this means I don't have some super human complex and I'm clearly human just like the rest of you" Sora narrowed his eyes

He began explaining as much as he could about what the heartless were and what they could do, to how tall they could get – considering his most recent encounter with one and the best method of slaying them. When it came to what weapons worked and fighting the possessed this is when it became a voiced argument rather than an internal one.

"Only _your_ weapon can slay shadow walkers and heartless?!" Sora already felt a headache

"Weiss," Pyrrha spoke up

"He said his weapon is the best form of defeat not the only, if that was the case don't you think he'd be doing this alone?" The girl in question blushed slightly and looked away from all prying eyes

"It means, yes you can kill them, it may take longer, however, I haven't been able to test this," Sora spoke above the two

Tidus finally seemed agitated enough and was seriously itching for some actual moving

"Why don't we show them exactly what the shadow walkers can do when they grant their powers to a human, shall we?" Tidus stood up stretching

"…You don't mean-"Ruby looked back and forth between the two

"It's been awhile since we actually fought and they need to understand what they're up against" Tidus smirked

"Ruby and her team have an understanding on it" Sora retaliated

"Yeah, but my team doesn't, and its best they get a grasp before we are actually in battle and they have no idea what to expect!" Tidus shouted Ruby and the girls slightly flinched at his words

"Fine, you want to fight so badly," He readied Fenrir again into his hand

"Will fight, and I'll beat the aggression out of you!"

A tense few seconds followed before Tidus charged his brunette friend intent on causing damage to him, Sora easily back flipped away and rushed in faster than he was known for slamming his blade against Tidus' unguarded torso sending him flying away. Tidus however recovered quickly.

"That the best you got?" Tidus smiled "You're lacking, since last we fought" Sora's eyes grew wide

_Does he remember?_

Tidus ran in again

"Holy!" Tidus shouted as balls of pure white energy came speeding toward the brunette faster than most could blink

"Reflect!" A dome of clear energy similar to glass surrounded the teen. Causing every single projectile Tidus shot to backfire. Tidus leapt jumped and ran dogging his own magic and when he got a clear vantage point ran in toward the keyblade wielder.

Blade met blade and Tidus couldn't contain his smirk anymore, Sora shrugged him off and kicked himself away from the blonde aggressor

"You've gotten soft, Sora, seems I'll have to elevate things to make you give it your all!" Sora glared

"**Get ready!**" His eyes started to shift gold Sora's stance faltered slightly

"**CHAOS!**" Sora flinched the power of his darkness was ten times stronger than last he remembered and for whatever reason – despite the tension he felt, he was glad to have a challenge.

"Fine, that's how you want it!?" Sora gripped his chest in hopes he'd transform into whatever form he could, he felt the power flow and all too soon did it fade.

"This is the true strength of one?!" Blake asked clearly more vocal about her shock than the rest

"He has the powers of one but he isn't one!" Sora rushed his friend again only to be literally stopped in his tracks by a barrage of attacks that Sora couldn't hope to stop. Every punch felt like he was getting hit with a truck and they just kept getting harder and harder until finally he went flying into the dirt.

Sora shakily stood, blood dripping from a cut above his left eye, the mako in his system maing his eyes ten times more intense than they would've been normally, he summoned the will to stand.

"I'll show you, just how much stronger I've become!" Tidus scoffed at this

Sora vanished and in seconds a gust of wind so fast it would've sliced a car in half zoomed by missing its target by mere centimeters, at this moment, Tidus couldn't hope to react fast enough.

"Omni-" Sora began whaling on the blonde sending him into the sky were he continued his onslaught of attacks so fast no human eye could see.

"Slash!" Sora came raining down to end with the final attack but Tidus knew all too well how this went and sent a ball of pure darkness into the face of his friend sending him out of his momentum filled attack and into the ground. Hard Tidus wasn't pleased and knew he wasn't giving it his all and decided to say something about it

"What happened to you, what happened to that power you used to save Yuna, to save _Dagger_" Sora shakily stood

"You've been so worried about something that you haven't been fighting serious at all!" Sora used his keyblade to balance himself

"Is this, what this was all about?" Sora huffed

"You rely on Chaos – since you obtained it when you saw what it did you could stop, but you continue to choose to use it, you think it'll make a difference when you fight Jecht!?" Sora shouted Tidus was clearly growing angry with this exchange

"I don't need that – I don't need those things for my strength it lies within me!" Sora readied himself once more, before he could charge however, Weiss grabbed a hold of his wrist

"You can't keep this up, you've made it clear how strong they are, and if you continue you may not even make it!" Laughter was Sora's rebuttal

"I didn't think I'd live to see the day you'd show me compassion, Weiss, however…" A blue aura surrounded him

"I'm not done here; I won't lose to my crybaby teammate!" Sora smirked

_Let's go_

"**WISDOM"** The blue aura manifested itself into his clothing and his weapon – light engulfed it and it split in two smaller versions – similar to daggers and then into what seemed to be two pistols before turning into something akin to Weiss' own weapon minus the dust chamber it was thin and was _almost_ lacking teeth if you didn't notice the small nubs near the end.

Sora vanished landing on his opponent with his blade in dagger form attacking quickly and without hesitation.

"Figara!" Sora shouted as a giant ball of fire shot out of his weapon, Tidus quickly guarded and leapt into the air as his wings started to form, Sora didn't waste a second firing off magic in rapid succession.

Tidus elegantly dogged everything Sora threw much to the brunette's annoyance and shot his own brand of dark magic back, Sora zipped and dogged as much as he could until an idea formed

"Mimic!" Sora shouted when his blade returned to normal, a visage of his close Ninja companion appeared in his mind a single tear fell for her

"All Creation!" Sora ran in as light surrounded him – the light blinded the group before it all of a sudden vanished as it came.

The two teens had to be fished out of the crater they made, Sora being the victor only by a technicality of still having slight awareness of what was going on before he reached the state of blacking out.

"These two," Jaune spoke up before anyone else did

"They fight on a whole different level, we can't compete with that!" Jaune looked to each of his teammates, fear was clearly visible

"Jaune…" Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort

"We can't, but we knew the risk and we can't go back now" The ever stoic Ren responded to his leaders outburst

"Yeah! And hey a stronger opponent just means more of a challenge and more reward, right?" Nora smiled complying with her child hood friend as best she could

Jaune still pouted shaking his head

"I told you, this will help you, in the long run, you want to prove you deserve to be here by your own merit? This will fast track that" Pyrrha smiled

"I…I get that but…" Jaune was clearly still unsure

"One mission, one mission and will decide from there if we should continue"

Team Rwbys was at a different form of compromise all together

"You can't be serious, that's what we're facing, Sora even had trouble with it, and you expect us to defeat that? After two times of seeing – granted the former was nothing compared to this - you _still_ want to press on?"

"Who else does he have to rely on?" Blake countered clearly fueled by something that made her words bite harder than they should have.

"He can do it on his own, get himself killed for all…_I care_" Weiss grew silent the longer she talked and her team was clearly upset

"We can't let him go alone, he needs us!" Ruby stated

"You're only saying that because _you_ want him around, Ruby he doesn't need us we haven't even been able to truly act like a team before and this is just proving that even more so especially with a guy like that!"

"Hey, look she's trying to be a good leader here, and all you've done since Sora showed up is have a fit, this will help us all become huntresses faster and that's my sisters' dream!" Yang defended

"How do you even know that? How are you positive this will fast track us to the goal she – any of us want!" All eyes were on Weiss

"And you want to risk our lives, on a hunch, on some guy we don't even really know" Ruby flinched

"You…You are right but we can't just let someone go it alone, like it or not we're a team **all of us,** that includes Sora!" Weiss' eye twitched

"How far up his butt do you plan on going, Ruby! He wasn't apart of us before and ever since he joined us you quickly defend him as if he can truly do no wrong, well if we continue to go about this we may end up injured or worse, are you really okay with that?!"

"Weiss!" Yang shouted

"Weiss, you're being way too hard on her, she-"

"She needs to grow up and realize this isn't a game, you're her sister do something about it!"

Bodies began to stir both teens sat up, one with eyes of indifference the other, eyes of annoyance.

"I had planned on letting you all decide, seeing as I am new to this team, but I can't let this go" Both teens stood up, one shakily than the other.

"You can't place that blame on her, she as well as the rest of the team want to help, and what's wrong with that?" Tidus started

"What's wrong with it? I dunno, the fact that we could get _killed_, we've faced grimm and even Roman but what you demonstrated…is something beyond that" Zipping sounds penetrated the arguing everyone looked to the teen in question who took off his jacket and then his red shirt to reveal scars the girls saw the first night he slept, but not all. He had scars going from his navel to the center of his chest, and back even through his spine, the scar on his navel however went inward and was clearly a scar that would always be there. They grimaced

"These scars are proof of my attempts to protect the people I love, I'll make sure you four don't come to harm, but without you, I'm powerless" Sora recalled his past that caused these mass of scars and grit his teeth

"What do you mean, powerless?" Blake was curious but had an idea forming

"It seems I can't activate my form change without being near one of you, without that I'd have trouble, especially on my own"

"If this is too much for you, I understand, I'll go it alone…" He glared at the grass before him

"However, I can't give up here; everyones counting on me, I just can't let them win"

"Sora even I know fighting those things alone is stupid" Tidus added in

"What would your mom think of you saying this stuff?" Tidus could see his words had an impact

Sora seemed to recoil at that

"To that I say, my mother raised an idiot" Hands wrapped around his torso and tender silver eyes met his aggressive electric blue

"We won't let you go alone, Weiss is against it but I'm not and Yang is always ready for a fight and and-!" Her eyes glistened over

"-Like it or not we're a team, where you go we all go" The sincerity of her voice, reached him returning the hug and a heartfelt smile plastered on his features.

"Thank you, Ruby" Her face once again went scarlet and went rigid in place.

Despite her nerves, she spent hours trying to get Weiss to agree to help the new addition to their team and nothing seemed to work until Weiss finally agreed on the condition she was given _cheese cake_ every week and that Sora obeyed her sleeping area for him. Until she felt she could actually trust him that meant keeping his word on protecting them.

Ruby and the team studied together that day over what he talked about and over Grimm, where they took over explaining as for Tidus…

"So, that power of yours…you uh, have that under control right?" Pyrrha asked

Tidus looked at her a little startled before responding

"Yeah, I was just…that needed to be said I can control it, no doubt!" He faltered a bit however

"It's an extension of my emotions, but it helps I can easily defeat the heartless because of it, it's just a manifestation of a pure shadow walkers hatred!" Pyrrha was taken aback

"R-Really"

"Yeah, but i don't really rely on it, well try not to, sometimes it just happens when I'm angry

"Why?" now the whole room seemed curious the room they shared was rather relaxed outside of the fact that Nora couldn't sit still and Pyrrha was grilling the exuberant blonde

"It –" A knock on the door stopped him dead Ren opened the door to see Glynda, Glynda Goodwitch, Yeah Tidus didn't get what the whole thing with the last name was either, just that she was beyond strict and if you saw her at all during the day, it was likely you'd get in trouble for something. Tidus couldn't help but tense up.

"I've come with your mission specs for tomorrow, you'll be doing recon on a recently constructed Whitefang base and report with intel on who is in charge of this particular cell and what they happen to be dealing with. Under no circumstances are you to engage unless cornered, do I make myself clear?"

"Wait, Recon means no fighting, right?" Tidus stood up alarmed

"_Yes_, I just explained that" Glynda seemed irritated

"You, along with team Rwbys will go together until the checkpoint then split up and go onto your separate assignments"

Her gaze was on Tidus

"Good night students" The cool air seemed to be sucked out of the room with her and everything seemed to return to normal

"Well, as much as this may suck, it'll give me more time to think of ways to help-" He pointed to Jaune

"-You out, while we're out there just watch me!" Tidus smiled

"You sure are full of yourself, aren't you?" Ren joked

"If I'm not sure of myself, who can I be sure of?" Tidus remarked

"Touché" Ren got comfortable on his bed only for Nora to take a seat sloppily next to him messing up his spread, irritation filled him slightly only for him to dismiss it.

"You can't rely solely on yourself now. You've got a team who has to rely on you as much as you us, will be counting on you, Tidus" The blonde smirked

"Same to you, Ren"

"Oh you can praise him! Notice me too!" Ren lazily laid his hand on his childhood friends head in a comforting fashion to calm her down which wouldn't keep her still for longer than his hand was present on her head.

"Nora, your strong, and you know that, I shouldn't have to praise you for that, besides you already know I've got to count on you the most" A small smile traced his stoic features and Nora went giddy bouncing in place messing up Ren's bed even more and as annoyed as that'd normally make him, he'd be sleeping soon enough so what was the harm?

"Ah, I suppose I should go tell Sora about the mission tomorrow, he'll wanna be prepared" Tidus stood up stretching

"I wouldn't worry about it, Glynda should've told them already, she's very…punctual" Pyrrha half smiled

"She's one scary lady though, you'd do best not to get her angry" Jaune added in looking to his counterpart

"Heh, nothing I can't handle!" Tidus smirked

Jaune – despite the smile he had on his face was a bit envious, he wasn't as strong willed he didn't believe in his own strength, not like Tidus, not like Sora, the only one who believe in him seemed to be Pyrrha. He looked to his red head teammate and couldn't help but feel at odds.

"_If I became strong, would you look at me the same?"_

Sleep as painful or as easy as it came was for the first time enjoyed.

In anticipation of tomorrow


End file.
